216AD- Elagabulus and the Eastern Legions overthrow Macrinus the Praetorian Prefect and becomes Emperor of Rome. There has always been an inconclusive debate as to whether there were any black Roman emperors the way there were Spaniards (Vespasian) Croatians (Diocletian), and Arabs (Phillipus). The Romans were not color-prejudiced; they equally discriminated against all races and faiths. Septimius Severus, St. Augustine and Percennius Niger ("Black Percennius") were from the African Provinces, but were they racially African, Semitic or Greek? No surviving likeness can prove either way. The huge migrations of Arabs that followed the Moslem conquests in the 600's AD altered the ethnic makeup of North Africa forever. But Macrinus was known to be a Moor and there is no such thing as a Caucasian Moor.

452AD- Attila the Hun invaded Italy.

632 A.D. The Prophet Mohammed died in Medina. His followers elected his uncle Abu Bakir as the first Caliph or defender of the faith. The position of Caliphate continued through the Middle Ages in Baghdad until the rising Ottoman Empire moved them to Constantinople and made the post a figurehead behind the Turkish Sultan. The office disappeared after 1918 when the secular Republic of Turkey was declared.

1786- A New York newspaper advertised that a Mr. Hall was currently selling the new Italian confection called Iced Cream. First reference to Ice Cream in the Americas.

1845- Andrew Jackson died. His last words to his friends and servants was:” Goodbye, I hope to meet you all again in Heaven, both Black and White.” After, someone asked Jackson’s manservant” Do you think Jackson is in Heaven?” The man replied:” If General Jackson decides he wants to go to heaven, who can stop him?”

1867- Two years after the Civil War ended former Confederate General James Longstreet, the right hand of Robert E. Lee, published a newspaper article encouraging Southerners to give up their anger and work with the U.S. Government. He even declared his intention to join Abe Lincoln’s party, the Republicans! He saw his actions as the only practical course. But embittered rebels vilified him as a traitor. This letter was the reason the name Longstreet is not today as fondly remembered as Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee or Jeb Stuart, even though his record was their equal.

1869- Chicago native Mr. Ives McGaffey was given a patent for a “sweeping machine that utilizes the power of air suction” the Vacuum cleaner.

1871- 70-year-old Kiowa warchief Satanka was being transported in an army wagon, handcuffed, to prison. He said to some Indians along the road:" Go tell my people to come and get my body here, because I'm gonna go die now." As he spoke he slowly worked his hands out of the handcuffs, taking the flesh off in the process. He then sprang on the surprised soldiers and fought until they killed him. They dumped Satanka’s body on the roadside where the Kiowa found him later.

1874- Chiracauha Apache chief Cochise died, probably of stomach cancer. His tribe buried him in a crevasse in the Dragoon Mountains that is still a secret.

1886- IRISH HOME RULE BILL DEFEATED- It was the dream of Liberal Prime Minister William Gladstone to cap his career by settling the age old "Irish Question". However, many in his Liberal party wouldn't go that liberal. Former radical minister Joseph Chamberlain resigned from the government and split the liberal party to unify with ultra-conservatives to defeat Irish autonomy. The Liberal party eventually disappeared from English politics to be replaced by the Labor party in the next century.
Josef Chamberlain went on to invent the game of Snooker.

1886- King Ludwig II, ruler of the second largest independent German State, Bavaria, was declared legally insane by his cabinet and put under arrest. Ludwig the Mad bankrupted his treasury building wild anachronistic castles like Neuschwanstein and the Blue Grotto, as well as Richard Wagner’s concert hall at Bayreuth. Ironically, today, these buildings are among the main tourist attractions in Germany.

1892- Bob Ford, the man who killed Jesse James ten years earlier, was running a saloon in the Colorado silver mining country. A man named Ed Kelly came up behind him and said: "Oh, Bob?" As Ford turned around, Kelly let loose with both barrels of his shotgun.
Ford had just come from a Church where he donated money to bury a local saloon girl. He had written on his donation " Charity Covereth Up a Multitude of Sins..."

1900 - Start of Sherlock Holmes story the "Adventure of 6 Napoleons"

1912- Carl Laemmle formed Universal Pictures Studio.

1941- During the early part of World War II, Israeli Palmach partisans were hired by the British as scouts to fight the Vichy French in Syria. The British worried that the Nazis would use Syria to launch an offensive in the rear of the Eighth Army fighting Rommel in Egypt. This night, at a Syrian border village called Iskanderun, a young Jewish officer was lying on a rooftop looking through his binoculars when a bullet came through the eyepiece and shattered his right eye. The bone of his eye socket was too damaged to support a glass eye, so he wore a black eye patch for the rest of his life. Moshe Dayan with his distinctive black eye patch, became one of the most famous Israeli soldiers.

1942 - Bing Crosby records "Silent Night".

1942- In a private meeting at the White House, President Franklin Roosevelt asked movie mogul Jack Warner to make a movie showing our new ally the Soviet Union to the American people in a positive light. The movie “MISSION TO MOSCOW” starring Walter Huston put a rosy spin on Stalin’s regime and even made excuses for his genocidal political purges. After the war and FDR’s death, angry conservative politicians conducting the House un-American Activities Committee went after Warner Bros over MISSION TO MOSCOW. Everyone who worked on the film got in trouble with HUAC and had to apologize.

1945- In Tokyo, at a meeting of the cabinet attended by Emperor Hirohito, the Japanese decide that despite the defeat of allies Germany and Italy, they would prosecute the war to the bitter end.

1949- During the Hollywood Blacklist, today an FBI report named actors Paul Muni, Frederick March, Edward G. Robinson, Paul Robeson and Dorothy Parker as reds. They had no proof, mostly anonymous accusers. Robinson was blacklisted, but never called upon to testify before the committee to clear his name. He said “ It’s like I was accused of being a rabbit. I am not a rabbit, but how do we know if you cannot prove you’re not a rabbit?”

1950- Universal pictures released 'Winchester '73', the first film in which the star James Stewart negotiated for a backend percentage of the profits. Stewart's agent was Lew Wasserman, the head of MCA and mentor of Steven Spielberg.

1954- During the Army-McCarthy Anti-Communist hearings, in front of a live television audience, attorney Joseph Walsh takes apart Senator Joseph McCarthy for stooping to accuse a junior law partner in Walsh’s office for once belonging to a socialist organization. Walsh’s dramatic cry gained national prominence “ Finally Senator, have you no shred of decency?” McCarthy was censured by Congress, stripped of his chairmanships, and was politically finished.

1962- Twentieth Century Fox fired Marilyn Monroe for her erratic, druggy behavior on the set of “Something’s Got to Give”, and cancelled the picture. Monroe went into a tailspin that would lead to her suicide four weeks later. Even after her death, Fox sued her estate for $80,000.

1966- The American football leagues NFL and AFL announce their merger.

1968 - Rolling Stones release "Jumpin' Jack Flash".

1968- James Earl Ray, the man accused of assassinating Martin Luther King the past April, was arrested in London, England.

1969 "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," last airs. The show was canceled by CBS, not for bad ratings, but because its format highlighted liberal and anti-Vietnam War performers like Buffy Saint-Marie, Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger. Producer Tommy Smothers was constantly battling nervous network executives to let Seeger sing songs like “Big Muddy”, a direct criticism of U.S. war policy. Finally when former President Lyndon Johnson personally called CBS chief Bill Paley to complain, the show was yanked. When writer/singer Mason Williams learned the Smothers Brothers Show was canceled, he planned to make an enormous pie to throw at the eye logo on the CBS building, but they threatened to sue him for trespassing if he actually staged the stunt...

1969 - Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor replaces Brian Jones.

1981- Former UN General Secretary Dr Kurt Waldheim was elected President of Austria despite revelations about his once being an officer in the Nazi army.

1982-Legendary Negro League Pitcher Satchel Paige dies at 79. I once talked to a Disney security guard named Mitchel Carter who saw Paige pitch a game in the Detroit Negro league. Mitch said Satchel was so hot he loaded the bases, then ordered the fielders into the dugout because he felt like striking out the whole side, which he proceeded to do. When the Major League color barrier was broken in 1947 Paige started his new career at 42. He pitched a World Series game for Cleveland 1948 and in 1965 was stilling pitching shutout innings in major league games at age 59!

1983- The films "Trading Places," & "Gremlins," premiered.

1984- Ivan Reitmans’ film "Ghostbusters" premiered.

1984- Donald Duck officially became a member of the Screen Actors Guild- SAG.

1986- NBC was bought by General Electric. David Letterman joked about now having to interview toaster ovens on his show.

1998- the President of Nigeria, General Sani Abacha, died during a Viagra reinforced assignation with three women.

1999- The nation of Columbia announced it would now factor in its drug exports when calculating the nations GNP or Gross National Product.

2002- Forest Service ranger Terri Barton was trying to burn a letter from her estranged husband. The blaze she started became the Hayman Fire, the worst forest fire in Colorado history. The fire destroyed 103,000 acres and almost burned down the city of Denver.
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Yesterday’s question: Al Capone was not sent to jail by Elliott Ness, but by Mabel Walker Willebrandt. How?

Answer: She was an investigative agent for the Treasury Dept. She reasoned gangsters don’t get prosecuted for their crimes because of alibis and intimidation of witnesses. But none of them seem to pay taxes. So she got Scarface convicted of federal income tax invasion.